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Death Toll From Massive Strikes on Kyiv Rises to 30

A woman with a bicycle walks by a residential building damaged following a Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on July 2, 2026, (AFP)
A woman with a bicycle walks by a residential building damaged following a Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on July 2, 2026, (AFP)
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Death Toll From Massive Strikes on Kyiv Rises to 30

A woman with a bicycle walks by a residential building damaged following a Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on July 2, 2026, (AFP)
A woman with a bicycle walks by a residential building damaged following a Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on July 2, 2026, (AFP)

Ukraine said on Friday that the death toll from a massive barrage on its capital had risen to at least 30 people, as both Kyiv and Moscow vowed fresh assaults.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces would "definitely" retaliate for the Wednesday to Thursday overnight pummeling, as he inspected an apartment block that was partially destroyed.

The European Union's top diplomat proposed new sanctions on Moscow, as Zelensky pressed the United States for licenses to manufacture Patriot air-defense missiles.

UN chief Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Russia's barrage and repeated a ceasefire call.

"Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure wherever they occur are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately," said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

But the Kremlin vowed to further ramp up "pressure" on Kyiv, sticking to its no-compromise rhetoric.

- 'Most massive attack' -

Russia has routinely launched waves of missiles and drones during its invasion, Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

AFP journalists in central and eastern Kyiv heard more than a dozen explosions and saw residents rushing to shelter in metro stations.

In the morning, locals stood on the rubble of destroyed apartment blocks ripped apart by the barrage, as smoke poured over the Kyiv skyline.

Blasts started echoing out late on Wednesday, lasting into the early hours of Thursday as Russian missiles and drones rained down on residential areas in the city center.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko described it as the "enemy's most massive attack on the capital".

Ukraine's state emergency service said that the strikes had killed 30 people, increasing an earlier toll after three more bodies were pulled from the rubble.

The head of the city's military administration Tymur Tkachenko said 91 people were wounded.

The Ukrainian branch of the Red Cross said its key warehouse had been destroyed and around $2 million worth of humanitarian aid lost.

Debris also damaged a building "hosting a number of diplomats", EU spokeswoman Anitta Hipper told AFP, adding that the EU diplomats were safe.

And in Kryvyi Rig, two people were wounded when a missile struck a densely populated area, the head of the central city's military administration said early Friday.

Kyiv urged its allies to send more air defense.

"We also very much count on a decision by the United States regarding licenses for Patriots," Zelensky said in a post on Facebook on Thursday.

Later, after talks with Finland's President Alexander Stubb, he added: "Defending against ballistic missiles is impossible without a sufficient number of missiles for Patriot systems."

Ukraine wants to manufacture munitions for the US-made missile interceptor system, but defense experts say it would take time to set up production domestically.

A US official told AFP President Donald Trump wanted a peace deal to end the "senseless killing" in Ukraine.

- Struggling to sleep -

Russia fired 496 drones and 74 missiles, including hard-to-intercept ballistic projectiles, Ukraine's air force said.

It said it shot down 48 of the missiles and 476 drones.

AFP reporters met several Kyiv residents outside an apartment building largely destroyed in the attack.

"Half the building has been destroyed. The roof is gone," said 32-year-old factory worker Sabina Mambetova, standing outside the rubble of her home in the eastern Darnytskyi district.

"I've been left without an apartment, alone with my child. I don't know what to do now."

Some 52,000 people, including 4,500 children packed into underground stations to shelter from the barrage -- the highest number in recent years, according to the Kyiv metro.

Others hunkered down in basements or corridors through the night as blasts shook buildings across the city.

"It's hard," 32-year-old doctor Kateryna Kucheryava told AFP from the metro as the attack was unfolding. "My child is used to sleeping in complete silence and darkness.

"I picked her up and carried her down. She woke up and now she's not sleeping anymore."

Along station platforms, locals set up tents and lay on air mattresses and camping chairs, while mothers tried to sleep clutching babies to their chests.

- Zelensky cuts short visit -

The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said she would propose new sanctions on Moscow over the attack.

The attack came hours after Zelensky cut short a visit to Dublin on Wednesday, citing intelligence reports of an impending Russian strike.

Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin "has been preparing this massive strike against Ukraine for some time now".

Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone attacks inside Russia in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure and military targets.

Russian officials have reported repeated strikes in border regions, while Moscow has said its air defenses have intercepted hundreds of drones from Ukraine in recent days.

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World

G20 Trade Officials Meet under Shadow of Tariffs, Overcapacity

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is hosting counterparts from G20 countries in Milwaukee for two days of talks. Jim WATSON / AFP/File
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is hosting counterparts from G20 countries in Milwaukee for two days of talks. Jim WATSON / AFP/File
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G20 Trade Officials Meet under Shadow of Tariffs, Overcapacity

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is hosting counterparts from G20 countries in Milwaukee for two days of talks. Jim WATSON / AFP/File
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is hosting counterparts from G20 countries in Milwaukee for two days of talks. Jim WATSON / AFP/File

G20 trade ministers are set to open talks Wednesday in the United States, in meetings strained by President Donald Trump's tariffs as Washington targets partners regarding forced labor and overcapacity.

The gathering of officials from the Group of 20 major economies -- which includes China, India, Russia, Japan, Germany and France -- takes place in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee.

But analysts expect the two days of talks to be deadlocked as Trump's tariffs weigh on relationships while China rejects concerns about its exports, which critics see as driven by excess industrial capacity.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer defended Washington's approach at a Tuesday roundtable in Milwaukee, saying the administration "is not anti-trade."

He added that countries are facing similar challenges with global overcapacity and "non-market policies."

This week, key US trading partners like Canada and the European Union are also expected to push for deeper trade ties outside the United States.

"Don't expect any breakthroughs in Milwaukee," Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council think tank told AFP, noting Trump's preference for bilateral negotiations.

Even as G20 partners will be anxious to find ways to cooperate with the world's biggest economy, "they will also be under pressure to voice their concerns with tariffs," added former US trade official Wendy Cutler, now at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

The United States holds the rotating presidency of the G20, which comprises 19 nations plus the EU and the African Union.

- 'Unfairly targeted' -

Trump has unleashed a barrage of tariffs on trading partners since last year, separately targeting sectors like steel and autos.

Although the Supreme Court struck down Trump's country-specific tariffs in February, Washington has since alleged insufficient action against forced labor to slap new tariffs on 60 economies.

These include China, India and the EU.

The president's sectoral duties remain intact too, straining ties.

And Washington is investigating 16 partners over excess industrial capacity, a complaint commonly levied at China. Critics say this floods markets, unfairly suppressing prices.

But ongoing US probes go beyond the world's number two economy, bringing the threat of more tariffs to the EU and G20 countries like Japan and South Korea.

Cutler expects some countries will "mince no words" regarding the investigation, feeling "they are being unfairly targeted."

China "will continue to deny the issue of exporting overproduction," by trying to convince others that it is doing good by providing high-quality and low-priced goods, she said.

"This will be a hard sell," Cutler told AFP, as countries see employment and commercial fallout from waves of Chinese imports.

"Meanwhile, members are wondering how much they should agree to with the Trump administration, given trade policy could change in the US after 2028," Lipsky said, referring to the next US presidential election.

- Diversifying -

With Trump's trade wars, all eyes are on G20 members' efforts to deepen trade ties outside the US, or strike deals with his administration.

Canada and the EU are expected to try and boost trade and investment with others, as a spat between Ottawa and Washington intensifies.

Canada's international trade minister Maninder Sidhu stressed Ottawa's support for "open, predictable and rules-based trade."

He plans to speak with partners to "reinforce a multilateral trading system," as officials try to diversify an economy they see as too reliant on an increasingly protectionist United States.

Others like India could finalize a long-awaited trade deal with the United States. Observers are also monitoring for signs of further pressure on Iran.

Outside the G20, workers and activists are protesting what they see as the Trump administration's broken promises to improve conditions for workers, farmers and smaller businesses.

John Drew, who chairs the political arm of the United Auto Workers union in Wisconsin, laments the loss of manufacturing jobs in the state.

While the UAW does not rule out using targeted duties to protect jobs, he said, Trump's sweeping "use of tariffs has done nothing to bring back jobs and rebuild manufacturing."

World

Somali Pirates Kill 5 Crew Members Before Tanker Rescue

File photo: Ships have been affected in the Gulf of Aden. AFP
File photo: Ships have been affected in the Gulf of Aden. AFP
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Somali Pirates Kill 5 Crew Members Before Tanker Rescue

File photo: Ships have been affected in the Gulf of Aden. AFP
File photo: Ships have been affected in the Gulf of Aden. AFP

Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security forces, Somalia's semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday.

Puntland's authorities said they also rescued a second vessel on Tuesday that had been hijacked in May.

The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade, said Reuters.

The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates ‌in April during a ‌resurgence of Somali piracy that experts have attributed, ‌in ⁠part, to impacts ⁠of the Iran war, including elevated oil prices that make tankers more attractive targets.

Puntland's information ministry said in a statement that a rescue mission had successfully freed the ship and captured 16 pirates.

"Before the operation begun, the pirates on board the ship killed five of the crew. Among those killed were three from Pakistan, one ⁠from Myanmar and one from India," it ‌said.

Four crew members - three Pakistanis ‌and one Indian - were also injured, the statement said.

The rescue follows another ‌rescue mission last week, when Puntland's maritime police force freed ‌the US-sanctioned tanker Sibu 1, which Somali pirates had hijacked in August.

Puntland's Maritime Police Force (PMPF) said in a statement late on Tuesday that it had also rescued an oil tanker called MT Eureka which had ‌been hijacked in May after its hijackers fled when police approached the vessel.

"As PMPF forces approached ⁠the area, ⁠the pirates fled towards the shore and moved inland," it said.

"PMPF forces continue to pursue the individuals involved and are conducting further operations to apprehend those who escaped."

The two rescues bring the total to five out of the six ships held by pirates off the Somali coast as of late August that have now been freed.

A previous wave of piracy from 2008 to 2014 disrupted one of the world's busiest shipping routes, cost the global economy billions of dollars and resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments.

World

Russian Attack Kills Two, Wounds Four in Kyiv

S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system after being deployed at a military base outside Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia, on March 11, 2019 (Reuters)
S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system after being deployed at a military base outside Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia, on March 11, 2019 (Reuters)
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Russian Attack Kills Two, Wounds Four in Kyiv

S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system after being deployed at a military base outside Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia, on March 11, 2019 (Reuters)
S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system after being deployed at a military base outside Gvardeysk near Kaliningrad, Russia, on March 11, 2019 (Reuters)

Russian strikes killed two people and wounded four others in the Ukrainian capital overnight, officials said Wednesday, as explosions rang across Kyiv after a ballistic missile alert.

Kyiv has increasingly faced Russian drones and missiles as Europe's worst conflict since World War II grinds through its fifth year.

The night attacks took place after Ukraine's air force warned of a ballistic missile threat and later said they were headed towards Kyiv.

AFP journalists heard several dozen explosions across the city and observed some disruption to power distribution.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said on Telegram "2 people were killed. 4 people were injured" in the attacks.

Officials said the strikes sparked fires and caused damage across Kyiv and the surrounding region.

"Kyiv region has come under another enemy missile and drone attack," regional military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said.

In the capital, emergency workers responded to blazes in houses, warehouses, commercial buildings and other sites.

Russia has been deploying newer jet-powered drones that move faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional models, which are based on Iranian Shahed drones.